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Our Confession
Inconsistent Living
When I became a Calvinist years ago, I ignorantly believed that a better
understanding of God and Scripture would annihilate certain sins in the church.
I thought the scandals, addictions, and grave sins that I witnessed over and over
again in leadership back in my prosperity and non-Calvinist circles would cease
now that I was Reformed. These men would be different.
Eventually, scandal struck. And I was devastated. I cried for hours the first time
it happened. And then, one by one, several more men I respected locally and
nationally began to fall into scandalous sin, even though they had solid theology.
Some of the failures garnered national attention. I believe every Christian
fundamentally understands these mens problems. We all know what its like
when our conduct contradicts our confession.
If I had been more introspective, it would not have taken local and national
scandals to show me that sometimes Jesus-loving Christians dont always live
out what they profess to believe. My own life is a testimony to this reality.
Scripture repeatedly provides examples of Gods people whose conduct was
inconsistent with what they believed.
The most memorable example is the fall of David. The Bible describes him as a
man after Gods own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), even though he committed
adultery, and then murdered the womans husband.
Perhaps a less scandalous example is the conduct of Peter in Galatians 2:12
21. Peter knew Jesus Christ when he was on earth and was a part of Christs
inner circle. He was an apostle and an author of Scripture. But Paul had to
oppose him to his face. Why? Because he stood condemned. Even though he
knew that justification comes through faith in Christ, apart from the law, his
behavior completely contradicted what he knew to be true. Paul plainly says that
his conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel (Galatians 2:14). No
one denies that Peter, an author of two epistles, had a rich understanding of the
gospel. Yet, even Peter walked out of step with what he knew was true.
Knowing God
As I think about our forefathers and the years of injustice that followed the
signing of that great document, Im no longer puzzled by Americas blatant
hypocrisy. Just as our forefathers recognized that weve been endowed with
inalienable rights, we must also recognize that our forefather Adam has infected
us with sin. Therefore knowledge alone is not enough to change the hard heart
of human beings. We need to know God in order for us to truly be changed.
As we wrestle with sin and our evil desires, we must go to Scripture, not as a
means of knowing theology alone, but as a means to knowing God and to being
known or searched by him and his word. If we want to know a famous person
and be known by them, reading their autobiography alone is insufficient. It
doesnt invite intimacy because its one-sided. The Bible is not an
autobiography. Its an invitation into intimacy with the Creator, who reveals
himself to us through it and invites us to interact with him over it through
prayer.
theology. This is why our sound theology must also be healthy Spirit-filled, humble,
and consistent.
The doctrine and theology that we study must shape the way that we live. If were
studying to impress each other with our lofty ideas and our big words on social media,
theology will never change us. If pastors only read their Bibles to hold down their jobs
but arent pleading before God to be changed by what they read, they will remain in
their sin.As we read the Scriptures and study theology all of us we must plead with
God to break our hearts and give us eyes to see so that his truth will radically change
our lives. Our goal when studying the Scriptures must always be deeper intimacy with
the Father. As we think big thoughts and dive into the grandiose truths about who
Christ is and what he has accomplished, we can never forget that these truths exist for
our freedom and for Gods glory.